Archaeology Notes

Dunoon Castle, extant in the 12th century and allegedly so in the 6th, stood on a cone-shaped hill more than 80 feet high. It was a royal residence in the 14th century, and in the 17th century it fell into ruins.

It apparently consisted of three strong circular towers arranged in a triangle but only the foundations (14/15th century) of some of the pillars which supported the roof remain.

W Inglis 1895

Dunoon castle stands on a partly artificial motte.

E S Armitage 1912

The remains of Dunoon Castle are scant. The best preserved portion remaining is to the SW where there is a passageway 1.7m wide. The outer wall of this passage is 8.8m long and 1.6m thick, while the inner wall has a height of c.4.0m. The flat-topped mound on which the castle stood contains footings of wartime structures, and a modern geographical indicator.